1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to improvements of a book binding system performing book binding process for binding book blocks together with book covers so as to make books or booklets. The book binding system comprises a carriage passage, a carrier mechanism for carrying the book block along the carriage passage, and a series of processing units which are sequentially provided along a carriage line, to perform the book binding process. The carrier mechanism has a clamp-adjustment mechanism for adjusting a gap for clamping the book blocks and the processing units each have at least one of an acting-portion adjustment mechanism and an alignment mechanism. The clamp-adjustment mechanism and the acting-portion adjustment mechanism and the alignment mechanism are adjusted to accommodate the book blocks and the book covers of various sizes.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, such book binding system has been developed that can receive one volume of book blocks consecutively from a printer or a copy machine to book-bind each of the book blocks one after another. FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of such a prior-art book binding system. The book binding system shown in FIG. 8 is of a wireless stitch-binding type and comprises: a carriage passage F; a carrier mechanism (clamper having a pair of clamp plates Ab and Ac) for clamping a book block P to carry it along the carriage passage F; and a series of processing units (processing starting unit A, milling unit B, pasting unit C, and book-covering unit D) sequentially provided along the carriage passage F for performing book binding processes.
At the processing starting unit A, the book block P is position with its back side put on a level plate Aa and, with this, one of the clamp plates, Ab, is moved in an arrow Ra direction corresponding to a thickness of the book block P, thus appropriately adjusting the gap between the pair of clamp plates Ab and Ac. Then, the book block P is sandwiched between the pair of clamp plates Ab and Ac and sent along the carriage passage to the milling unit B for the next process.
The milling unit B comprises a milling cutter Ba and a pair of width adjusting plates Bb and Bc. At the milling unit B, one of the width adjusting plates, Bb, is moved in an arrow Rb direction, to adjust the gap between the pair of the width adjusting plates Bb and Bc. As the book block P sandwiched between the pair of clamp plates Ab and Ac passes over the milling cutter Ba, the back side of the book block P is cut to the same level, thus being pre-processed for applying paste uniformly to the whole back side. A certain type of the milling unit B may have a blade for forming a small groove in the back side of the book block P to pate it better.
Next, the book block P sandwiched between the pair of clamp plates Ab and Ac is sent to the pasting unit C. The pasting unit C comprises a paste tank Ca for containing paste, a paste roller Cb, and a roller Cc for wiping extra paste, so as to apply paste on the back side of the book block P to an appropriate thickness. When pasting is completed, the book block P is sent to the book-covering unit D.
At the book-covering unit D, a printed book cover Q is carried by a conveyor or any other appropriate carriage means from a book-cover accumulating portion (not shown) in an arrow S direction onto a bottom plate Da and nip plates Db and Dc. One of the nip plates, Db, is moved in an arrow Rc direction corresponding to the thickness of the book block P, to adjust the gap between the pair of nip plates Db and Dc. Then, the back side of the book cover is adhered to the back side of the book block P thus carried over as sandwiched between the pair of clamp plates from the pasting unit C.
In this case, however, to adhere the book cover Q to the book block P, proper alignment is necessary so that the centerline of the back side of the book cover Q may agree with that of the back side of the book block P. FIG. 9 is a plan view explaining one exemplified method of aligning the book cover Q and FIG. 10, a plan view as viewed in an arrow X direction of FIG. 9.
As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the plurality of book covers Q are stored between a right-side guide plate 51 and a left-side guide plate 54. When a right-side guide-plate moving motor 52 is driven, a linkage portion 51a moves along a right-side guide-moving screw 53 in an arrow direction Tc, to thus moving also the right-side guide plate 51 linked to the linkage portion 51a in the arrow direction Tc.
When a left-side guide-plate moving motor 55 is driven, a linkage portion 54a moves along a left-side guide-moving screw 56 in an arrow direction Td, thus moving also the left-side guide plate 54 linked to the linkage portion 54a in the arrow Td direction. Thus, when the right-side guide-plate moving motor 52 or the left-side guide-plate moving motor 55 is driven, the book cover Q moves in the arrow Ta direction, to align the centerline of the back side Qa with that of the back side of the book block P sandwiched between the clamp plates A and Ac.
A reference number 57 represents a vertical guide plate for setting a top-and-bottom (vertical) reference position of the book cover, a reference numeral 58 represents a vertical guide-plate moving motor, and a reference numeral 59 represents a vertical guide-moving screw. When the vertical guide-plate moving 58 is driven, the vertical guide plate 57 moves from its home position in an arrow Tb direction. The vertical guide plate 57, when the vertical guide-moving motor 59 is rotated in a reverse direction, returns to the home position. A reference numeral 60 represents a frame body for fixing the motors 52, 55, and 58 and a reference numeral 60a, a support portion for supporting a left-side moving screw 53 and a left-side guide-moving screw 56.
The right-side guide-plate moving motor 52, the left-side guide-plate moving motor 55, and the vertical guide-plate moving motor 58 consist of, for example, a stepping motor. With this, a move is determined on the basis of measurement values of a width-wise size, a length-wise size, and a back-side centerline position of the book cover.
Also, as mentioned above, it is necessary to, corresponding to the thickness of the book block P, adjust the gap between the pair of clamp plates Ab and Ac of the processing starting unit A, the gap between the width adjusting plates Bb and Bc of the milling unit B, and the gap between the pair of the nip plates Db and Dc of the book-covering unit D, that is, it is necessary to adjust the respective width-adjusting portions of these units. The gaps of these members are adjusted either by the operator manually or by the motor, which is used to move these members over an appropriate distance.
Thus, the prior-art book binding system measures the thickness of the book block P and the size of the book cover Q at their respective predetermined portions, based on measurement values obtained by which are adjusted the respective width-adjusting portions of the processing units either by the manual operations or by the motor-driven operations. Also, by the motor-driven operations, the book-cover alignment mechanism is adjusted. In this case, in motor-driven adjustment, the operator would enter measurement values at the key-in portion of the controller device, thus setting a move.
Therefore, it is necessary to measure the size and adjust the respective width-adjusting mechanisms of the processing units or to enter necessary values for motor-driven operations, to increase working loads, thus problematically prolonging the time required in book binding.
Also, there may be some cases where a book is bound with the centerline of the book block back side as mis-aligned with that of the book-cover back side. In such a case of a failure in book binding, book covering must performed again in order that the centerline of the book-cover back side may agree with that of the book-block back side, which further increases the working loads, thus further prolonging the time for book binding.
In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a book binding system that can accommodate book blocks and book covers of various sizes, to reduce the working loads of width adjustment and alignment of various processing units of the system as well as to improve the book binding efficiency.
In order to achieve this object, according to the present invention there is provided a book binding system performing book binding process for binding book blocks together with book covers so as to make books or booklets. The book binding system has a carriage passage, a carrier mechanism for clamping the book blocks and carrying the book blocks along the carriage passage, and a series of processing units sequentially provided along the carriage passage for performing the book binding process, the carrier mechanism including a clamp-adjustment mechanism for adjusting a gap for clamping book blocks and the processing units each including at least one of an acting-portion adjustment mechanism and an alignment mechanism, the clamp-adjustment mechanism, and the acting-portion adjustment mechanism and the alignment mechanism being adjusted to accommodate the book blocks and the book covers of various sizes. The book binding system further comprises a measuring device for measuring the size of the book blocks and the book covers at their respective predetermined portions and outputting the measurement value, and a controller device for receiving the measurement values from the measuring device and, based on the measurement values, adjusting the clamp-adjuring mechanism of the carrier mechanism and the acting-portion adjustment mechanism and alignment mechanism of each of the processing units.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the measuring device has a base, a pair of supporting members fixed on the base with a gap therebetween, a guide rail extending between the pair of supporting members and supported by the supporting members, a measurement block guided for slide movement by the supporting member, a reference block fixed on the base and abutted by one end of the guide rail, and moving-distance measuring means for using as a zero-point a position where the measurement block butts against the reference block to thereby measure a distance over which the measurement block has moved with respect to the reference block, wherein the predetermined portions of the book blocks and book covers are sandwiched between the reference and the measurement block, to measure the size and output the measurement value from the measuring device.
According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the abutting surfaces of the reference block and the measurement block each consist of a flat measuring surface and the predetermined portions of the book blocks and book covers are sandwiched between the reference block and the measurement block, thus enabling the measurement of the size.
According to further preferred embodiment of the invention, the moving-distance measuring means has; on the base, a pair of pulleys arranged with a gap therebetween in a direction parallel to the guide rail, a belt engaged over the pair of pulleys and having its part linked with the measurement block, and outputting means linked to the rotary shaft of one of the pair of pulleys for measuring the number of rotations of the pulley and converting the number of rotations into a moving distance of the measurement block and then outputting the moving distance.
According to further preferred embodiment of the invention, the measuring device has a display portion for displaying the measurement value and a numeric value input portion for inputting the numeric value displayed at the display portion, or changing the numeric value and then inputting the changed numeric value, wherein before the size is measured, the measurement block is abutted against the reference block, whereupon, the numeric value zero is input through the numeric value input portion so as to perform zero-point correction.
According to further preferred embodiment of the invention, the measuring device has a display portion for displaying the measurement value and a numeric value input portion for inputting the numeric value displayed at the display portion, or changing the numeric value and then inputting the changed numeric value, wherein before the size is measured, the measurement block is abutted against the reference block, whereupon, the numeric value zero is input through the numeric value input portion, and then the measurement block is moved by the maximum moving distance, the numeric value of which is previously known, whereupon, the known numeric value is input through the numeric value input portion so as to perform the calibration of the measuring device.
According to further preferred embodiment of the invention, the predetermined portion of the book block comprises a thickness of the book block and either a position of the centerline of a back portion of the book cover or a position of each side edges of the back portion, wherein the clamp-adjustment mechanism of the carrier mechanism as well as the acting-portion adjustment mechanism and alignment mechanism of each of the processing units are controlled so that the centerline of the back side of the book cover may agree with that of the back side of the book block.